British Cycling is "investigating the possibility" of creating a professional women’s team with similar founding aims to Team Sky, according to Tom Cary of the London TELEGRAPH. The intention is to "house many of the best British riders in one place" and allow them to tailor their programs to compete for GB on the track as well as on the road. British Cycling Performance Dir Stephen Park said that it was a "real aspiration," although he cautioned that it was "only talk" at the moment. He said, "We haven't got anything firm in place but we have spoken about it. We are particularly keen to see where we can support women's racing." Park said that it would be "preferable" if the majority of Britain’s "brightest" talent could ride for the same professional team as the men do for Team Sky. He added, "The problem is all those [female] riders are going off and doing different things for different people. And I suppose it’s just trying to balance up those [road] programs with the track program." Asked whether HSBC, British Cycling's new title sponsor, "would be keen to get behind the project," Park said that the company was concentrating at the moment on its Go-Ride initiative, which is "aimed at mass participation cycling." He admitted British Cycling "would be keen to find a sponsor" (TELEGRAPH, 9/25).
